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2022MSTHEAMEDVIEWRETOP GDID YOU KNOWABOUT THESE GAMEDESIGN JOBS?INCETONPRESIG N P R O GRASo you want to go to college to learn game design, but maybe you’re notsure what career path is right for you. Dive far enough into the world ofgame development and you’ll realize there are countless types of jobsdrawing upon infinite amounts of skills. It’s hard to pick where you shouldfocus, which is why we’ve laid out two lesser-known game design jobs,what they entail, and why the people working them have stuck with it.NARRATIVE DESIGNER“A game writer creates pieces ofnarrative that a game player assemblesinto their story of playing the game andthen shares with others when he talksabout how they played,” said ProfessorStephen Jacobs, citing Red StormGames writer Richard Dansky.Rather than strictly working on the“story” of a game, a narrative designermay work to build background details, ameta-story, and world design. A narrativedesigner can also impact gameplay, suchas when Professor Jacobs worked on“The Original Mobile Games,” acollaborative project that charted thehistory of the first handheld games fromthe 1800s to the early 1900s.“Here we were telling the story oforiginal, hand-held pocket games fromthe mid-1800s to early 1900s, andshowing how the gameplay mechanicswere the same between these oldergames and modern mobile games,”Jacobs said.Don’t think you can get away withouta bit of programming, though. Being anarrative designer relies just as much onthe “designer” part of the job title.“As games become more complex, itis necessary for narrative designers tounderstand the whole process ofdevelopment, so they know that acutscene is not just writing the dialogue,but setting up what the player has to do,and requires to coordinate with theartists, sound designers, voice actors,localization,” says NYU’s Professor ClaraFernández-Vara.A narrative designer must also knowtheir toolset enough to place questassets and hook up scripts provided byengineers and system designers.Narrative designers are alsoestablishing how a player interacts witha game, providing them a role, andhelping them understand complexsystems, Fernández-Vara says.What makes me proud is that mygames appeal to people who may notthink of themselves as “gamers”, butthey indeed love videogames and playthem devotedly and with a critical eye,”Fernández-Vara adds. “They just don’tidentify with the stereotype of thegamer.”GAMEPLAY ENGINEERThe humble gameplay engineer mightbe one of the most deceptivelyinteresting jobs in the industry. Ratherthan strictly working on lower-levelengineering tasks like memory orphysics, the gameplay engineer worksclosely with designers of all stripes tohelp their vision come to life. Or moresimply, you’re writing code that directlyimpacts gameplay, increasingplayability.“To be a great gameplay engineer,one must embrace computing in thecontext of game design,” says DavidSchwartz, director of Rochester Instituteof Technology’s School of InteractiveGames and Media. “The student needsto learn introductory programming, datastructures and algorithms, a variety oflanguages like C and C#, and enoughcomputational techniques and conceptsto interact with audio, graphics, physics,AI, interfaces, design, assets, and otheraspects of a game.”In some ways, the gameplay engineeris also responsible for how big the gamein question can be, or how powerful aplayer can become. They often work onthe math and coding behind playerupgrades, notifications, or otherin-game UI events. If you like the idea ofengineering from a higher vantage pointon a project, this might be for you.“The greatest gift is seeing othersactually playing and enjoying somethingthat I have helped to create,” says ClarkUniversity Professor Amanda Theinert.“Especially knowing all the little thingsthat went into that project behind thescenes that the end-user doesn’t evenknow about. Every project serves aunique set of challenges and that’swhere creative problem solving comesin.”Whatever role you choose to pursuein videogame design, collaboration is theheart of almost every successful game.“Those skills include communicatingyour ideas clearly, through visualizationas well as words; knowing how toobserve and listen to what makes yourgame tick and how it affects yourplayers; understanding how manydifferent disciplines come together tocreate a game experience, from writingcode to writing dialogue and craftingvisual assets; and much more besides,”says NYU Department Chair NaomiClark.Perhaps the most common responsefrom every person we spoke with: Thatthey do what they do because they lovemaking games, collaborating, andknowing that they’re making an impacton players.

2022ESIG N P R O GR5. UNIVERSITY OF UTAH14. WORCESTER POLYTECHNICINSTITUTEGraduates: Doug Bowser (COO,2021 Grads Mean Salary: 82,000(Pixar co-founder)6. ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OFTECHNOLOGY2021 Grads Mean Salary: 77,1002021 Grads Hired: 91%12NEW YORKUNIVERSITY2021 Grads Hired: 72%2021 Grads Mean Salary: 73,263Faculty: Winnie Song (Square EnixMontreal), Matt Boch (Rockband VR)Graduates: Atlas Chen(thatgamecompany), Noelle Mazurek(Games for Change)director, EA), Robin Hunicke (CEO,Faculty: Martin Lynagh (producer,Funomena)Media Molecule), Ruth Falconer8. DIGIPEN INSTITUTE OFTECHNOLOGY2021 Grads Hired: 68%2021 Grads Mean Salary: 71,50017. NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITYGrodin (senior artist, Nintendo)2021 Grads Mean Salary: 80,000Graduates: Riddhe Pati (userresearch, Epic Games), Zhuo Chen(UI artist, Sony)2021 Grads Mean Salary: 74,00018. RENSSELAER POLYTECHNICINSTITUTEGraduates: Glen Winters (previz, Red2021 Grads Mean Salary: 68,400Dead Redemption 2), Dan FornaceGraduates: Curtis R. Priem (Nvidia(Rivals of Aether)co-founder), Zach Barth2021 Grads Hired: 50%2021 Grads Hired: 90%2021 Grads Mean Salary: 65,000Graduates: Brandon Beck (CEO, RiotGames), Alex Beachum (Outer Wilds)2021 Grads Hired: 74%(engineering lead, Destiny), Mike11. BREDA UNIVERSITY OFAPPLIED SCIENCESTotal Courses: 1602021 Grads Hired: 87%Faculty: Elizabeth Stringer(development director, Atari), MichaelPorter (Sierra, Bungie)16. SAVANNAH COLLEGE OF ARTAND DESIGNGraduates: Taralyn von der Linden10. DREXEL UNIVERSITY415. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIASANTA CRUZFaculty: Michael John (creative2021 Grads Mean Salary: 65,5003(Lord of the Rings Online)2021 Grads Hired: 76%9. CLARK UNIVERSITYU NIVERSITYOF SOUTHERNCALIFORNIABioShock Infinite), Ben Schneider2021 Grads Hired: 85%2021 Grads Hired: 38%S OUTHERNMETHODISTUNIVERSITYFaculty: Keith Zizza (sound designer,7. ABERTAY UNIVERSITY(Women in Games)2021 Grads Hired: 87%2021 Grads Mean Salary: 73,100Faculty: Benjamin Noel (VP, EATiburon), Thomas Carbone (director,Iron Galaxy)Graduates: Billy Bramer (leadprogrammer, Epic Games), DennisBranvall (design director, Star WarsBattlefront)A2021 Grads Mean Salary: 91,312Nintendo Of America), Ed CatmullUNIVERSITY OFCENTRAL FLORIDAMSTHEVIEWREEDAMGRADUATE PROGRAMSTOP GTHETOP25BEST GAME DESIGNINCETONPR2021 Mean Salary: 42,00012. MICHIGAN STATEUNIVERSITY(ZachTronics)19. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY2021 Grads Mean Salary: 80,0002021 Grads Hired: 66%2021 Grads Mean Salary: 63,00020. LAGUNA COLLEGE OF ART DESIGNGraduates: Ben Medler (head of data2021 Grads Mean Salary: 54,000science, EA), Greg Cozma (associate2021 Grads Hired: 66%UX director, Ubisoft)13. THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXASAT DALLAS2021 Grads Mean Salary: 78,300Faulty: Jeff Senita (animator, idSoftware), Matt Charles (head ofproduction, Gearbox Publishing)21. UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN–STOUT22. UNIVERSITY OF MALTA23. NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY24. BRADLEY UNIVERSITY25. DEPAUL UNIVERSITY

BUILDING ABETTER COLLEGEAPPLICATION LETTERHOMEWORK:UnpackingTurning trinkets intostorytellingUnpacking is a game about, youguessed it, taking your stuff out ofmoving boxes and organizing itinto a new home. The game chartsdifferent stages of a person’s life,from youth to adulthood, as toldthrough the items you drag out ofboxes: A stuffed animal, a familypicture, or maybe a knock-offGameCube. Two of thedevelopers, creative director WrenBrier and technical director TimDawson, are a married couple whowere inspired by the process ofmoving in together.EXAMPLE: So how can such a seemingly dulland daunting task translate into a chill gamethat tells a compelling story? One level asksyou to move back into your parent’s homeafter a bad breakup. How does the gamecommunicate your breakup was less-thangreat? The final item, a picture of you and anex-boyfriend, cannot be placed anywhereother than a closet or drawer, suggestingsome animosity or heartbreak.HOMEWORK: Consider the emotionalimplications of a seemingly common orinconsequential item in your house.Whether it’s a photograph, a plush toy, orkitchen utensils, anything can have someemotional weight to it given the rightcircumstances. When creating art assetsfor your game, what sorts of stories canyou tell with just a handful of simpleobjects and where they’re placed?Maybe everyone else has their college career figured out, but you’reworried about the very first step: Writing a college admissionapplication letter. We spoke with several educators and admissionsworkers about what they expect from new students, and what youneed to do to impress them.MAKE GAMES, OBVIOUSLY!Shocking, I know. Nothing illustratesyou’re serious about making gamesthan actually doing it, even if it’s ahalf-finished concept built in Unity orTwine. One important aspect is tomake something that reflects who youare as a person.“At the NYU Game Center we wantto hear from students who bringsomething personal and meaningful tothe games they make, whetherbecause of life experiences they’ve hador a deep connection to certain formsof play and culture,” says NYU’sDepartment Chair Naomi Clark.Even if you haven’t made a gamealready, show that you’ve done yourresearch. What kinds of software,programs, or tools are developersusing and what can you do with them?“There are so many tools out there(GameMaker, Unity, Unreal) that givestudents enough of a variety of roles indesigning and developing,” says DavidSchwartz, director of the School ofInteractive Games and Media atRochester Institute of Technology.“Give links to demos, videos,screencaptures, design documents,and/or code samples. Learn aboutwhat the faculty in the school do andshow how you’ve learned enough todemonstrate that you’re a great fit.”LIVE A LIFE OUTSIDE OF GAMESThe perfect application also includesmaking games that have something tosay. Show that you can tell a story, ordesign an experience that an averageperson would be compelled by. That is,after all, one of gaming’s greateststrengths: That we get to “live” throughthem by play.“We want to hear what kinds ofgames they want to make, how theywant to change the world of games andthe world through games,” says NYUProfessor Clara Fernández-Vara. “TheNYU Game Center is part of the TischSchool of the Arts, and as such, we arelooking for artists who have curiosity,an urge to create, and are willing totackle social and cultural complexitiesthrough game design.”Imagine you’re a professor or deanat a game design school. So manyschools these days throw students intoteams that are structured likereal-world studios: A programmer, anartist, a writer, a designer, etc. Considerwhat you bring to the table in a groupscenario.“We hope to work with studentswho’ll explore what makes gamesmeaningful and all the different waysthat meaning can be expressedthrough play, since we’re still justscratching the surface of thosepossibilities, and we love to findstudents who are eager to experimentand try new things to discover what’spossible,” Clark says.Above all else, be the student youwant to be. Nothing excites a collegemore than having students who go onto do great things, and that starts withbeing passionate.“A good application essay is awindow into the personality and pointof view of the student,” says MeredithTwombly, VP of UndergraduateAdmissions at Clark University. “Thereis no such thing as the correct orincorrect thing to write about. Wesimply hope to hear the student’sthoughts on something that matters tothem.”

32. FALMOUTH UNIVERSITY Graduates: Rex Crowle (Media Molecule), Sophie Shepherd (Animator, Creative Assembly) 33. KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY 2021 Grads Mean Salary: 85,000 2021 Grads Hired: 60% 34. MARIST COLLEGE Total Courses: 131 Graduates: Darren Sugg (creative director, Fortnite) 35. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN-DEARBORN 2021 Grads Hired: 51%